Mid- Engine Modified Sports

[Stainless1]

HF tools are not meant for constant professional use... but are a bargain for the occasional user... most of us meet that definition
 

[DND]

Hi Rob

If you like the Can-Am you might pick up a copy of ' Al Bartz Engine Man ' by Phil Henny

I think you can buy it off of Phil's site or Amazon

Since I was Al's first man in the shop I had the pleasure of being asked by Phil to write a chapter in his book, very interesting on how Travers & Coons at Traco figures into all the Can-Am racing

Good Background how people get their start in the racing game

Being a nail bender then taking the two steps going into Al's shop changed my life for ever

G Don

[manta22]

G Don;

Our aluminum big block Chevies were built by Engine Systems Development-- George Bolthoff. Remember him? They were very reliable-- we never DNF'd.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[DND]

Hi Neil

Sure I remember George, I helped Tom Larkin with his gas dragster and they raced each other a few times

George set the Hilborn on his car to run rich and puff out some black smoke , plus have a un-even idle to it to be a standout from the rest of the blown gas dragsters and it sounded pretty neat

G Don

[Rex Schimmer]

Just a quick note about Traco, there is a new book out "Race Man" about Jim Travers and Traco. It is written by Gordon Chance (AKA, "Ricky Nelson, The Teen Age Tuner"). Great book and all of the greats are in it,Frank Coons, George Bolthoff, Stu Hilborn, Stu VanDyne, and many more. I think you can probably get it at the Automotive Book Store in Burbank. Great reading if you are a fan of the history of American motor sports.

Rex

[DND]

Hi Rex

The last 10 yrs of building engines I did my dyno testing at Traco from about 75' to 85'

What a great bunch of guys, when I first went there Stu was there then went to Drake - Then Eddie Hansen left to run Ron Shavers new engine shop and right before it got sold John Edgar left and opened his shop for doing offroad truck engines

The last time I was there the new owner was trying to learn running the dyno

Now the Traco name is on the oil in & outs that someone in NC is making I think?

G Don

[manta22]

I guess Nothing has been heard from me about my build for quite a while. Some time has been devoted to doing some design consulting work but now I've gotten back to the fun stuff.

I haven't been idle. My wife is in Australia for a month so I'm making the most of my free time. I have everything stripped down to the bare chassis and I have been finishing the welding and making gussets, etc. In a few places where rectangular tubing joints form an appropriate shape, I have cut out sheet steel pieces and welded them on so as to form a closed box structure. By adding a bit of light gauge sheet metal, that structure becomes much stronger & stiffer. It takes time, though. 

There is nothing exciting or photogenic about what I've been doing so I have not posted anything lately. It's just drudge work-- but necessary.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[manta22]

I might as well post a couple of pictures-- nothing exciting, though. The bare chassis is being finish welded. I don't have a rotisserie so I've made do with an engine hoist and a pair of sturdy metal sawhorses.  In these pictures, I've turned the chassis up on its left side for easier access to joints that I'm welding and also for adding gussets to the cage structure.

After the welding is finished, I'll haul it to town to get it media blasted. Then I'll bring it back home to prime it with a 2-part epoxy primer and then top coat it with the trick aerospace polyurethane that I found. Then it's back on the sawhorses to add a stressed 7075-T6 aluminum panel across the underside and also additional paneling in the sides of the cockpit. Then put all the stuff I stripped off back on. Hah! Nothing to it! 

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[robfrey]

Neil,
Thank you so much for the great update! So glad to here that you've had some time to work on her. I know exactly what you mean when you talk about not posting when mundane stuff seems boring.

[tauruck]

Cool pics Neil.

Thanks.

I used the "A" frames that I mount my block and tackle to, to make a rotisserie.
I welded some rectangular tubing across each one at the height I wanted and then cobbled up a swivel system.
It's carried a few tons.

[manta22]

I'm still working of finishing the chassis. I had looked it over and marked each joint that needed to be finish welded with a piece of blue masking tape. There are far fewer pieces of tape showing now than when I started so that's progress.

I needed to find the recommended mounting points for a 7-point harness and finding that info was a real scavenger hunt. I finally found it. But nobody provided information about the size of the bolt holes they used for their safety harness attachment hardware. I finally called Joe at DJ Safety and he told me they use 7/16" holes in their hardware. Thanks, Joe! Now I can add the necessary brackets to my chassis.

I need to make the lower bottom of the right side pod a little bit wider to fit the fuel cell can plus some padding and there are still a couple of gussets that I need to cut and weld on but it is coming together.

Regards, Neil

[wheelrdealer]

Neil:

Looks good. Almost to the tipping point where the chassis gets painted and it is time to start putting together.

BR

[Buickguy3]

   Neil,
   That's funny. I was at the bolt supply store in Billings a couple of weeks ago, and was told that 7/16 bolts were obsolete and being discontinued. I got what I needed and later was at Lowe's and Home Depot and there are no 7/16 bolts in their inventory. Why does it surprise me that racing products companies are still using them. Soon, I'm sure that all of the sanctioning bodies will require them and want an SFI certification number on them. [They will only be available from Simpson [read NHRA], DJ Safety, or Deist.
  Doug 

[manta22]

Doug;

I wonder if the guy in Billings was just BS-ing you to cover up the absence of 7/16" bolts in their inventory. They may not be the fastest selling bolt size but there are still plenty of 7/16" holes that need them. I try to use AN/MS/NAS bolts if I can find them at an affordable price-- lots of 7/16" bolts used in mil/aerospace. Maybe somebody better tell ARP that they are producing "obsolete" hardware. 

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[manta22]

BR;

After the welding is finished (soon, I hope) the next step is to haul the chassis into Tucson for a sandblasting, and after getting it home it will get a 2-part epoxy primer before shooting the trick topcoat.

Then, as you said-- put everything back on. That is, after installing stressed aluminum panels with a zillion rivets.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ